1. I-T Officials Conduct Raid at Jayalalithaa's Poes Garden Residence
The Income Tax sleuths on Friday raided the Poes Garden residence of late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. The operation was confined to the room of Jayalalithaa’s aide, Poongundran. “We have not searched the entire Poes Garden premises. Our team went at 9 pm and only Poongundran’s room, records room and other room used by Sasikala were searched,” a top Income Tax official told PTI.
According to reports by ANI, former MLA and TTV Dinakaran supporter, V P Kalairajan said, “This is just political vendetta and targeting of one family.”
(Source: The Indian Express)
2. Gujarat Elections: 49 Renominations in BJP's First List of 70
BJP on Friday released the names of 70 candidates for the 182-member Gujarat Assembly elections. Patidars (15) and OBCs (26) dominated the list.
BJP, which has won the last five elections in Gujarat with a clear majority, gave tickets to 49 sitting MLAs, including 16 ministers, suggesting that it wanted to put up a defence against the anti-incumbency factor.
There were six new faces, including Chhotaudepur superintendent of police PC Baranda, who resigned on Wednesday, from Bhiloda (ST) seat in South Gujarat and confectioner Dhanjibhai Patel alias Makson from Wadhwan in Saurashtra.
Five of the 12 Congress rebels from the Vaghela camp – Raghavji Patel (Jamnagar rural), Dharmedrasinh Jadeja (Jamnagar north), Ramsinh Parmar (Thasra), Mansinh Chauhan (Balasinor) and CK Raulji (Godhra) – were in the list.
(Source: Times of India)
3. US Move to Hike H1B Minimum Wages Will Hit Indian IT Sweatshops
A new legislation in the United States – which proposes to increase minimum wages, paid to foreign tech workers employed in the country on H1B visas, from $60,000 to $90,000 – has set off alarm bells in India with the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), saying that the proposed law is “arbitrarily targeting” Indian companies which took up only a small portion of these visas last year.
Two days ago, a judiciary committee of the US House of Representatives approved the bipartisan Bill ‘Protect and Grow American Jobs Act’, proposed by Republican Congressman Darell Issa and Democratic Congressman Scott Peters, to raise minimum H1B wages from $60,000 to $90,000. The Bill also proposes making Master’s degrees mandatory to qualify for work with H1B visas.
(Source: The Indian Express)
4. Nitish Faction Is Real JD(U), Will Get Arrow Symbol: EC
The Election Commission on Friday settled the symbol row within Janata Dal (United) by recognising the group led by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar as the real party entitled to use its reserved symbol 'arrow'.
Rejecting the petition filed by 'rebel' JD(U) MLA from Gujarat and Sharad Yadav supporter Chhotubhai Vasava, claiming recognition as the real JD(U) under Paragraph 15 of the Elections Symbols (Reservation & Allotment) order, 1968, the EC in an order said the group led by Nitish "has demonstrated overwhelming support in the legislature wing as well as the majority in the national council of the party, which is the apex level organisation body of the party".
(Source: Times of India)
5. 'Padmavati' Might Be Delayed as Censor Board Returns Application
While a controversy rages over Padmavati, the Central Board of Film Certification has returned filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali's application citing "technical deficiencies" in it, likely delaying its release.
Sources in the board told TOI the application was sent back to the filmmakers through an online process on 16 November. The film's 1 December release, sources said, is expected to be delayed as a result.
CBFC sources also confirmed that the board has not as yet reviewed the film. A source close to the decision said, "It will be incorrect to say that the film has been rejected. The CBFC has only sent Padmavati's application back to the filmmakers because of certain technical deficiencies in the form. Once the filmmaker returns the completed application, the film will be reviewed as per the rules."
(Source: Times of India)
6. Money Laundering Case Against Orissa HC Ex-Judge; Rs 3 Crore the 'Rate Card'
The Enforcement Directorate has registered a case of money laundering against former Orissa High Court judge IM Quddusi and five others for allegedly trying to influence court proceedings over an application to grant admission rights to a Lucknow-based medical college barred by the Medical Council of India (MCI).
The ED case is based on a CBI FIR in the matter which had set off a judicial storm in the apex court last week. The agency had arrested Quddusi and five others on September 20 and also searched their premises. Sources in CBI and ED said that investigations have revealed that Quddusi and his associates had demanded Rs 3 crore from the medical college, Prasad Institute of Medical Sciences, to get a favourable judicial order.
(Source: The Indian Express)
7. Kashmiri Footballer Majid Khan Leaves LeT After Mother's Plea; No Charges, Says Army
A 20-year-old Kashmiri man who had joined the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group surrendered after his mother launched a tearful appeal to him to return in a video widely shared on social media, police said on Friday.
A resident of Anantnag in south Kashmir, Majid Khan was a bright student and a popular football goalkeeper before he became LeT’s latest recruit in the Valley last week, triggering grief among family members and neighbours.
Khan, dressed in a black pheran (traditional Kashmiri overcoat) and a skull cap, was presented before the media at an army headquarters at Awantipora in south Kashmir. He reportedly took up arms after a close friend was killed in a shootout with security forces this year.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
8. Moody's Lifts India's Rank and Govt Mood
The Narendra Modi government finally has something to crow about with Moody's Investor Services, the New York-based global credit rating agency, upgrading its rating on India's sovereign bonds for the first time in nearly 14 years.
The agency said it was lifting India's rating to Baa2 from Baa3 and changing its rating outlook to "stable" from "positive" as it reckoned that the risks to the credit profile were "broadly balanced". Baa3 is the lowest rating in the investment grade - just a notch above junk bond or speculative status.
Moody's expressed its belief that continued progress on economic and institutional reforms would enhance the country's high growth potential.
(Source: The Telegraph)
9. Centre Defends Rafale Deal, Cites Dire IAF Needs
In the face of continued allegations about the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday defended the decision saying it was taken as an emergency measure to meet the urgent requirement of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
“Between 2000 and 2014, entire decade the UPA government could not arrive at a decision. Fourteen long years of negotiations and still no decision. That was the situation when this government came to power in 2014... Then Prime Minister understood the loss of time and took the government-to-government route for 36 aircraft, and given the limited numbers, transfer of technology made no sense,” Sitharaman told presspersons.
(Source: The Hindu)
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